


golden hour

by gracieli



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buckley-Diaz Family (9-1-1 TV), Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Fluff, Gen, Introspection, M/M, Soft Eddie Diaz, Soft Evan "Buck" Buckley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25859212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracieli/pseuds/gracieli
Summary: Buck takes Eddie and Christopher to see the poppy fields.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 125





	golden hour

**Author's Note:**

> title from "Golden Hour" by Kacey Musgraves

It’s a warm and lazy day at the Buckley-Diaz house, which are Buck’s favorite kinds of days. 

Maybe it's because he never really allowed himself to think that he could have this, never thought that he could experience waking up gently in the loose embrace of his partner, or drawing silly faces on pancakes with the child who he loves as his own, or making pillow forts in the living room to watch Disney movies. These little blessings are all he ever wanted and he doesn’t think he could ever take a single day like this for granted. 

So he doesn’t really know how the idea forms in his head but later in the afternoon, after they’ve finished _Tangled_ and they’re just comfortably lounging on the couch, Buck asks, “Hey, do you guys think you’re up for a mini surprise road trip?”

Eddie looks at him with a lighthearted curiosity and Christopher doesn’t miss a beat before he jumps up from his position on the couch and shouts, “Yeah!” 

Buck can’t help but grin at Chris’ ceaseless enthusiasm and directs his gaze towards his boyfriend. “What do you think, Eddie?”

Eddie pretends to _really_ think about it, purposefully not looking at Christopher.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’m just so _comfortable_ here,” he says exaggeratedly and Chris is almost immediately pouncing on him. 

He whines, “Daddy, pleeeeease.” 

And Chris thinks he is _so_ slick, pulling out daddy (which he rarely calls Eddie these days) _and_ his trademark puppy eyes. Buck and Eddie share a knowing smirk over Christopher’s head at how transparent their kid is despite his (albeit, very poor) attempt at manipulation. 

“Oh, alright,” Eddie groans dramatically, barely containing a grin. “Go on, get your shoes.”

Christopher whoops and is already jotting off to his room. Once he’s gone, Buck and Eddie break out into laughter over Chris’ antics. 

Buck looks at Eddie pointedly as he peels himself off the couch and jabs, “You’ve raised a monster, Diaz.”

“I like to think he learned that from you, not me,” Eddie retorts teasingly.

Buck walks away laughing, “Yeah yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.” 

He heads into the kitchen to find some snacks to bring for the trip, grabbing some fruit from the fridge and the trail mix and cookies from the pantry. He’s putting everything into their mini cooler when Eddie wraps his arms around his waist and presses up against Buck. He stays there for a moment and rests his head on Buck’s shoulder before softly pressing his lips to the area. 

Eddie asks playfully, “So by any chance do _I_ get to know where we’re going?”

“Mmm,” Buck hums and scrunches his face in pseudo consideration, “nope.” He turns his head to kiss Eddie’s cheek loudly and pats it patronizingly before breaking away. He can hear Christopher returning from his room, so he jogs to the front door to meet him.

“Alright alright,” he shouts excitedly, “let’s go Diaz boys!” He hustles them out of the door with the energy of a camp counselor and soon enough the three of them are piled into Buck’s Jeep and on their way. 

The ride itself is pleasant and only a little over an hour, the route taking them through a canyon of colorful hills that seemed to come alive with the growth of shrubs and dry grass and yucca. They blast the _Moana_ soundtrack and it suffices to say that while none of them would be auditioning for American Idol anytime soon, they definitely compensated for the absolute lack of talent with unrivaled passion and enthusiasm. 

Once they’ve made it through most of the songs, they finally arrive at their destination and a large sign welcomes them to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. 

Eddie’s eyes widen and he glances at Buck, who’s pulling into a parking spot. “I’ve been meaning to come here since last year when Karen told me about it. I just never got around to it.”

Buck grins, “Well it’s a good thing you have me to show you all the sights, then.” 

Eddie squeezes his hand gently and smiles at him with a soft look of adoration. “That it is.”

They climb out of the car, helping Christopher out and grabbing the mini cooler. As they walk past the entrance and towards the vast fields of golden flowers, the wind is gentle and makes waves out of the hills of poppies that surround them. 

The first time Buck came to the poppy reserve, it was only his second day in Los Angeles. He had no family to speak of at that point, but as he had looked out into the bright expanse of the golden poppies all those years ago, he felt a seed of hope take root within him and in that moment everything seemed just a bit more possible. 

To this day, Buck still can’t fully describe the feeling but it was the first place he stood and felt at peace. He still remembers how the rich warmth of the flowers and of the Santa Ana winds made him feel whole and settled. He still remembers the relief he felt with the realization that he didn’t have to run anymore, and today especially he’s never been more grateful that he stayed. Today, as he walks toward the fields with his family by his side, the poppies seem even brighter and the sky more vivid.

“There are so _many_ ,” Christopher says in awe. “Can we take one with us, Buck?”

Buck hesitates, “They’re with all their friends here, bud. I think they might get lonely if we took them back with us.”

And while Buck is very serious about preserving the poppies and making sure they’re happy, he neglects to mention that it’s also illegal to pick them and he’d rather avoid the fine if possible. 

But Christopher doesn’t complain, just nods thoughtfully. “That makes sense.” 

And _God_ , Buck loves this kid so much. 

“You know what, though,” Buck says, “Maybe we can swing by the nursery and pick up some poppy seeds. We can grow a bunch in the backyard that way.” 

Christopher’s eyes light up and Buck promises to himself to create a whole garden of poppies, anything for this ball of sunshine he’s somehow been blessed with. 

They follow the trail lining the colorful fields for a while until they come across a picnic table, where they sit and pull out the snacks Buck had packed. Christopher is quick to sneakily pick out the M&Ms in the trail mix and Buck just grins and lets him. They take turns inventing life stories for the people that pass them by - there’s a woman who they determine is _definitely_ an undercover spy, a family who traveled through time from the future, a man who is an actually an alien in disguise, and a little girl who can read minds. 

As he listens to the joyous sounds of his family’s laughter, Buck wonders how it came to be that they found each other, here, in California. All of his life, he wondered if maybe he was cursed - cursed to be unloved, left behind, alone. But now when he thinks of his life before Los Angeles, before Eddie and Christopher, he’s just thankful. All of it seems worth it if it brought him here in this place, experiencing the golden flowers with the people he loves the most. 

It isn’t long until the sky becomes awash with shades of pink and orange and the breeze turns cold. They stay until then, until the poppies begin to fold up their petals and the butterflies and bees that had fluttered around begin to retreat. At that point, they reluctantly pack up their things and start the short hike back to the car.

As they’re walking, Christopher gently tugs on Buck’s sleeve and asks, “Buck, can we come back sometime? I really wanna visit the poppies again.”

Christopher has to know that Buck would do anything for him, but Buck says anyway, “Yeah, Superman. I’ll bring you here anytime you want.”

Christopher flashes him a toothy smile and breathes out a happy and tired, “Yay.”

Sensing how drained his son is, Eddie eventually lifts Christopher into his arms and carries him as they begin to make their way back to the car. 

In the days, months, years since Buck left the poppy fields that first time, it always felt like he had to struggle to recover that feeling of balance and contentment he felt there. Between Abby leaving and Maddie’s kidnapping and the ladder truck explosion and the tsunami and the lawsuit, it seemed that peace would always be a fleeting thing, as temporary as the breeze that swayed the flowers then vanished swiftly. 

But since Eddie and Christopher entered his life, since they became a family, that felt less and less true. Some days are still hard and the world can still be cruel and uncaring but Buck realizes that he has a solid place to land, a place where he belongs, and it makes all the difference. 

So this time when Buck leaves the poppy fields and goes home at the end of the day, he isn’t alone and that feeling of peace, of contentment, of belonging - that feeling stays. 

**Author's Note:**

> the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve was my favorite place as a child and it really is so beautiful to see, especially when there is a superbloom, so naturally i wanted to see the buckley-diaz fam make a visit 
> 
> ALSO sorry for any errors, i edited this at 4 in the morning and felt like calling it a day so here we are 
> 
> please leave kudos and a comment if you enjoyed it! they always make my day
> 
> i'm @gracieli on tumblr if anyone wants to say hi!


End file.
